Hey guys, for this post I am going to talk about style guides and layout designs. These points are crucial to how the magazine will look overall and show how you need to consider everything when creating a magazine. So, let’s first talk about the conventions of general layout designs.
General Layout Design Conventions:
When going over conventions, there are multiple parts of the magazine that need to be focused on. The first is understanding the things to consider when creating the layout. This can be broken into 4 parts.
The first part is the purpose of the layout. This makes you think about how you will base your information such as will it be image-based, story-based, etc. This can also create the tone of the magazine by focusing on making it formal, comedic, or artistic.
The second part is the balancing of content. If a page or spread is overcrowded, it can lose interest from readers. For it to look evenly distributed, grid systems help in aligning everything. A grid system is an invisible template of columns, rows, margins and gutters that help in placing all the content to where it is needed while not overcrowding the page.
The third part is the focus on hierarchy of information. Some information such as headings and subheadings can be more important in understanding the information visually than the article. By establishing the information from least to most important it helps in figuring out the font and font size. Make sure that it focuses on how it will be seen visually. An example of this would be having the title for the article as the biggest font on the page, and the sub-heading smaller than it.
The fourth and last part is the readability of the text. Factors like font color, size, and choice affect if the reader can understand what the magazine is talking about, so it is important that the choices can be read. For example, the font that you choose may look creative, but it should also be something anyone can understand from just looking at it. These factors tie into typography which we will talk about later in this post.
Another thing to look at that relates to layout design is a grid system and what it can look like when planning the magazine. As stated in previous paragraphs, a grid system is essentially an invisible template of columns, rows, and more that helps with placing all the content on the page of the magazine. Here is a sketch of some templates that can be used for a magazine.
These different grid systems can be used for magazines. When deciding which one to use, it is important to think about the difference between your content and the images. The “x” through some of the systems means that is where your images would go. If you have more information than images than that should be thought about and you should consider picking a template that has one large picture and then the rest of the space can be used for the content whether it is an article or, in a food magazines case, recipes. Now that we know the parts that are needed for a magazine, we are going to look at how it applies to a food magazine.
Food Layout Design Conventions:
For food magazines, there are many conventions to follow. One is the use of imagery and making sure that the images are good quality. The lighting should be a more natural lighting to look fresh and appealing. Most layouts use close-ups of images of the final dish, behind-the-scenes, prep photos, or a shot of all the ingredients. These types of shots can be used to match the content on the page whether it’s a dish from a restaurant review or an easy at home recipe. If you do a double page spread, you can use one large photo to cover a page. This can help if you want to make an impact on the specific topic.
Another convention is the structure of the page. As explained, grid systems can be used for content like recipes and articles. A grid system with 2 or 3 columns can help with making a page about recipes or an article. Here is a visual look of having 2 or 3 columns on the page layout. These layouts can always be adjusted based on the spacing you need, but this is a general idea.
The last convention focuses closer with a style guide. As talked in the last post about style guides, typography and the color palette, it can affect the layout as well by affecting the mood of the magazine or the specific page. For typography, the color should be clear to read as well as having bolder fonts to help it stand out. Also make sure to follow the “3-font rule” when choosing fonts for a design and make sure that it stays the same throughout. As for color, warmer tones are common for a food magazine to create a bright fresh look, but it is important it matches the theme it is trying to achieve. For example, if the food theme was about summer dishes, the use of bright citrus tones can achieve that theme. With these conventions in mind, let’s look at this example of a double page spread of a food magazine.
When looking at this example, you can see the use of creativity in layout design and how it can engage the readers using imagery and font formatting. They rely on the use of imagery and use a simple font that is clear to read but helps establish the topic for this page. The topic for this page seems to be steps to incorporate healthy options into your summer dishes.
The example also shows a clear hierarchy in the text. The size of the numbers helps identify the next step. As well, the sub heading for the steps is in a navy blue and is bold to help it stand out from the text. The use of different sizes for fonts helps clearly understand what is most important for the audience.
This example’s use of images helps show the food that is used for these tips and tricks. For colors, the use of a simple dark blue and white helps create an organized look. This allows the images of the food to stand out more by making the font stand out to see but not overpower the images.
Overall, these examples help show how the layout of a magazine can affect the mood and tone of the magazine. That is why it is important for everything to work cohesively. Just like in the example above, it shows a way to layout a magazine that can display its creativity and allow me to experiment more with the page while keeping it organized.
Sources:
Layouts:
https://creativemediabtec.wordpress.com/2021/01/20/codes-conventions-article-page-layouts/
Layout Examples:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/40039884185440072/
https://www.marq.com/blog/magazine-layout-design/
Food Layout:
Grid System:
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